V.

CONTROL SURVEYS
▪ Control surveying is referred to as the
determination of the precise position of a number
of stations which are distributed over a large area.
The established stations of the system serve as the
basis for originating or checking other subordinate surveys
for engineering projects such as topographic and
hydrographic mapping, planning, design and lay-out of
highways and railroads; and delineation of property or
political boundaries. Control surveys can be divided into two
general types which are laid out in the form of netscovering
the areas to be surveyed :
▪ Horizontal Control
▪ Vertical Control
HORIZONTAL CONTROL
▪ Horizontal Control surveys over extensive
areas generally establish geodetic latitudes
and longitudes of stations.
▪ Plane rectangular coordinates are subsequently
computed from these values.
▪ When control surveys are performed on smaller
areas, plane rectangular coordinates are determined
directly without obtaining geodetic latitudes &
longitudes.
▪ The main objective of horizontal control surveys is the
establishment of a network of triangulation stations.
FIELD PROCEDURES USED IN HORIZONTAL
CONTROL SURVEYS:

1. CONTROL BY TRAVERSING
- a series of horizontal distances and
directions are observed to connect points
whose positions are to be determined.
Traverses for control surveys consist of closed polygons with
most of the sides and angles measured directly in the field.
This procedure is generally less expensive and can be
extended in any direction. It can be undertaken even under less
favorable weather conditions.
Its main disadvantage is that there are fewer checks available
when there is a need to locate surveying errors and mistakes.
2. CONTROL BY TRIANGULATION
When a large area is to be surveyed and
where the methods of traversing would not be
expected to maintain a uniform high accuracy
over the entire area, triangulation as a form of
horizontal control is specified.
Triangulation surveys consist of networks of geometric figures
with almost all of the angles measured directly in the field and with
relatively few sides measured.
The positions and elevations of widely separated points are
determined. The lengths and directions of the lines joining these
distant points also need to be determined.
With triangulation more than one route can be used in moving
through the system to calculate desired lengths.
3. CONTROL BY TRILATERATION
In this procedure the lengths of the sides
of a series of triangles are measured and the
angles are computed from the lengths.
Trilateration is the most accurate of the three
methods of establishing horizontal control because
distances are measured more accurately than angles.
Just like triangulation, it has the advantage that
checks can be made in the calculations while moving
through the system by more than one possible route.
▪ The choice of methods is not dependent upon the
required accuracy of results, since superior quality
horizontal control data can be obtained by any of the three
procedures.
▪ It is relative economy which will often dictate the survey
method to be adapted.
▪ Triangulation will usually be the choice in mountainous
or hilly country where stations can be located for long
intervisible sights.
▪ Traverse Survey would be more suitable in flat, open
terrain, or where stations need to be closer together.
▪ Photogrammetric techniques are also used to densify
control in some areas.
▪ Inertial & satellite dopler systems – are more
modern techniques.
VERTICAL CONTROL
▪ In vertical control surveys, the main objective
is the establishment of a network of
reference bench marks.
▪ The elevation of these bench marks are determined
usually with respect to mean sea level or some other
preferred datum.
▪ Vertical control surveys may be run either by
barometric, trigonometric, or differential leveling. The
choice is more dependent on accuracy requirements.
▪ Inertial & Satellite Doppler Systems are now also
used in the establishment of vertical control.
▪ The most accurate and widely used method,
however, is still precise differential leveling.
Definition of Terms
1. Triangulation – a method for extending horizontal
control for topographic and similar surveys which require
observations of triangular figures whose angles are
measured and whose sides are determined by
trigonometric computations.
2. Triangulation System – consists of a series of
triangles in which one or more sides of each triangle are
also sides of adjacent triangles.
3. Triangulation Stations – are the vertices of the
triangles in a triangulation system.
4. Base Line – is one of the lines in a triangulation system
whose length is precisely measured and its true direction
determined by astronomical observations. It is usually
located at the beginning of the triangulation system and
its length is used as the basis for computing the lengths
of other lines of the system.
5. Check Base – one of the lines in a triangulation system
whose length is also precisely measured and may be
located at regular intervals or at the end of triangulation
system. It serves as a check for triangulation computations
involving lengths of lines
6. Trilateration – a method used for horizontal control
surveys which is based exclusively on measured horizontal
distances. It consists of a series of joined or overlapping
triangles where sides are measured and the angles are
computed.
7. Horizontal Control Surveys – are surveys made
to establish geodetic latitudes and longitudes, and
plane rectangular coordinates of a fundamental
network of reference stations.
8. Vertical Control Surveys – are surveys usually run by
barometric , trigonometric, or differential leveling to
establish elevations for a network of monuments called
bench marks.
9. Least Squares Method – a method of adjustment
used in triangulation systems and other types of traverse
surveys. It is based on the theory of probability and is used
to simultaneously adjust the angular and linear
measurements to make the sum of the squares of the
residuals a minimum.
10. Station Adjustment – an approximate adjustment
used in triangulation systems of lower orders of precision. It
is sometimes referred to as local adjustment. Its objective is
to make the sum of the angles about each triangulation
station equal to 360 degrees.
11. Figure Adjustment – in this adjustment the objective
is to make the sum of the three angles in each triangle
within a triangulation system equal to 180 degrees. The
adjustment is an approximate method used in most low
order triangulation systems.
TRIANGULATION
▪ The method of triangulation was earlier adapted
because it eliminated the difficulty of measuring
long distances especially over rugged terrain. It is
based on the trigonometric proposition that if one
side and the three angles of a triangle are known,
the remaining sides can be computed.
▪ Triangulation utilizes geometric figures composed of triangles.
▪ In triangulation a large number of inherent checks and closure
conditions are available which help detect blunders and errors.
▪ Although it is not ordinarily used for small areas, it may be
needed for construction projects where a high degree of
precision is required to control locations such as for bridges,
tunnels, highways, and other engineering constructions.
▪ It is required for large projects, such as boundary location, power
development, water-resources development, flood control,
irrigation, or reclamation to attain accuracy.
TRIANGULATION SYSTEM
▪ A triangulation system consists of a network of
connected triangles which adjoin or overlap
each other. The vertices of which are marked
points on the earth's surface.
▪ Four of the commonly used type of
triangulation system (based on geometric
figure arrangements):
▪ 1. Chain of single and independent triangles.
▪ 2. Chain of quadrilaterals formed with overlapping
triangles.
▪ 3. Chain of polygons or central-point figures.
▪ 4. Chain of polygons each with an extra diagonal.
Chain of Triangles
▪ A chain of single triangles is the simplest form
of triangulation system since it involves a
minimum of angular measurements and
calculations for the amount of area covered.
▪ This type of a triangulation system does not provide the
most accurate results because it lacks certain checks to
balance small errors which are certain to occur even in
the most careful works.
▪ It is usually employed in long and narrow surveys of low
precision such as for a valley or a narrow body of water.
▪ There is only one route through this type of system and it
is necessary to frequently measure base lines as checks
for the work.
CHAIN OF QUADRILATERALS
▪ The chain of quadrilaterals is the most
commonly used triangulation system. It is best
adopted to long and narrow surveys where a
high degree of precision is required
▪ Each figure is composed of two pairs of overlapping
triangles which gives the maximum opportunity for the
distribution of angular errors.
▪ In the individual quadrilateral there is no triangulation
station at the intersection of the diagonals.
▪ Although it is the most expensive system to use, it still is
desired because it gives the highest accuracy.
Chain of Polygons
▪ This triangulation system is composed of a
group of triangles having within it a station
which is at a vertex common to all the
triangles.
▪ It is used when horizontal control is to be extended
over a wide area involving a large number of points
such as a large triangulation survey for a city.
▪ The central- point figure, especially when skewed, can
be further strengthened by using an extra diagonal.